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Welcome to Close Call Sports. CCS objectively tracks and analyzes close and controversial calls in sport, with great regard for the rules and spirit of the game. Developed from The Left Field Corner: MLB Umpire Ejection Fantasy League (UEFL), whose purpose is to objectively track and analyze umpire ejections, video instant replay reviews and their corresponding calls, with great regard for the rules and spirit of the game.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Referees Dan Crawford (crew chief), Dick Bavetta (R) and Eric Dalen (umpire) ejected Bucks center Larry Sanders for a second technical foul during the 3rd quarter of the Bucks-Trail Blazers game. With 3:08 remaining in the third period, Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova was called for a shooting foul, his fourth, Sanders receiving two technical fouls in succession for conduct in violation of the NBA's Respect for the Game guidelines by continued complaining regarding a non-call on a missed shot attempt by Sanders. At the time of the ejection, the Bucks were leading, 80-65. The Bucks ultimately won the contest, 110-104.

This is Dan Crawford's third ejection of the 2012-13 NBA season.
This is Dick Bavetta's second involvement with an ejection of the 2012-13 NBA season.
This is Eric Dalen's first involvement with an ejection of the 2012-13 NBA season.

Friday, January 18, 2013

It's not just baseball and the Chicago White Sox's Ken "Hawk" Harrelson. As officials across nearly all sports have long known, ignorance of the rules is universally pervasive.

For a more confined case study, consider Thursday evening's NBA contest between the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers during which TNT broadcasters Marv Albert, Steve Kerr and Reggie Miller discussed several rules intricacies: traveling as relates to a loose ball/falling on the ground, the eight-second rule and the clear path foul. The Qualities of Broadcasting Accuracy for each instance below is "incorrect":

Traveling: After a loose ball struggle, Kerr lamented that in college and high school basketball, players would routinely be called for a traveling violation upon diving on the floor for a loose ball. Later in the contest, Albert referenced a sequence in which Miami's LeBron James recovered a loose ball on the ground and stood up without being whistled for a violation.Explanation: NBA Rule 10-II-a is fairly straightforward: "A player shall not run with the ball without dribbling it." For this discussion (player on floor), Rule 10-XIII-e is relevant:e) A player who falls to the floor while holding the ball or stopping may not gain an advantage by sliding.In NCAA college, Rule 4-70-6 states "it is traveling when a player falls to the playing court while holding the ball without maintaining a pivot foot." In NFHS high school, Rule 4-44-5 states that a player holding the ball "may not touch the floor with a knee" or if gaining control on the floor, "may not attempt to get up or stand." At these levels, a player is permitted to dive for a loose ball and possess it, but may not voluntarily violate a rule as specified above.

All codes agree—despite their differences, all levels require a player to hold the ball while committing a second act. During the play in question, James did not hold the ball while moving from the ground to standing. Replays indicate the ball maintained contact with the ground until James' feet were the only parts of his body in contact with the ground. Only then did James pick the ball up or "hold" it. This is legal at all levels.

Eight-Second Rule: Hastled in the backcourt, Miami's Dwyane Wade carried the ball over the midcourt line with 16 seconds visible on the shot clock. Albert and Kerr immediately stated they believed an eight-second violation had occurred while Miller proposed this apparently "new rule" had caused confusion resulting in what the broadcasters deemed was a missed call.

Explanation: When the eight-second rule was adopted in 2001 (prior to that, it was 10 seconds, a rule introduced in 1933), the math was simple: taking a shot clock of 24 seconds, officials were to rule a violation if a team was in continuous possession of the ball in its backcourt for more than 8 seconds, or at the 16-second mark (24-8=16). However, as I have previously stated, shot clock timing became more complex when the NBA converted to a tenths-of-a-second timer prior to the 2011-12 season.

Before 2011-12, shot clocks ran from 24-to-0, which in tenths-of-seconds, was 24.9-to-0.9, the violation occuring at 0.9 seconds (technically, 0.999999...). The reason for this is previous-model shot clocks only displayed full seconds, so instead of seeing 0.9 seconds, viewers would see 0 seconds, or, a violation. Accordingly, eight full seconds lapsed at 16.9 seconds on the shot clock, or as soon as the clock read 16.

After the conversion, shot clocks effectively lost nine-tenths of a second, running from 24.0 to 0.0, the shot clock violation this time occuring at 0.0 seconds (which, logically is really 0.09 seconds, meaning 24.0 seconds is really 24.09 seconds). Accordingly, eight full seconds lapse at 16.0 seconds, or a full nine-tenths of a second after the clock reads 16.

Because the clock does not operate in tenths-of-a-second above the five-second mark (sig digs!), officials have no full-proof way of knowing when the clock is equal to 16.0 versus 16.9 sec. Therefore, the common axiom is to whistle the violation at 15.9 (visible = 15) seconds, a 0.1-second margin of error.

Nonetheless, replays confirm the Heat advanced the ball into the frontcourt prior to 16.0.

Clear Path Foul: During a steal and pass from James intended for Wade, Los Angeles' Metta World Peace committed a foul on Wade. Albert, Kerr and Miller considered the possibility a clear path foul had occurred and were surprised when, after review, officials Joey Crawford, Mark Ayotte and Zach Zarba ruled the foul common and not of the clear path variety.

Explanation: Rule 12-B-I-Penalties-6 clarifies this exact situation: "If a defender is ahead of the player being fouled and has the opportunity to position himself between the ball and the basket, there is no clear path foul." Though the rule further specifies the requirements of (1) team possession, (2) backcourt origin, and (3) deprivation of opportunity to score, the aforementioned and explicitly referred to information clearly deliniates that the clear path foul call does not apply in this situation because World Peace was clearly ahead of Wade and between the ball and the basket during the foul.2012-13 TFFL: Day 77 (4 Games, 2 Technicals).

Sunday, January 13, 2013

NBA Referees Marc Davis (crew chief), Tony Brown (R) and Tre Maddox (umpire) ejected Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich for a second technical foul during the 4th quarter of the Timberwolves-Spurs game. With 7:22 remaining in the 4th period, Popovich received two consecutive conduct technical fouls following a shooting foul called against Spurs forward-center Tiago Splitter. At the time of the ejection, the Spurs were leading, 90-77. The Spurs ultimately won the contest, 106-88.

This is Marc Davis (8)'s second ejection of the 2012-13 NBA season.
This is Tony Brown (6)'s first involvement with an ejection of the 2012-13 NBA season.
This is Tre Maddox (73)'s third involvement with ejection of the 2012-13 NBA season.

HP Umpire Roberto Moreno ejected Leones del Caracas shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera & Manager Frank Kremblas for arguing a strike call in the bottom of the 10th inning of the Navegantes-Leones [Lions-Navigators] Venezuelan Winter League playoff game. With none out and none on, Cabrera took a 0-1 pitch from Navegantes pitcher Juan Rincon for a called second strike before striking out swinging on the next pitch. Replays are unavailable; the call is irrecusable. At the time of the Cabrera/Kremblas ejections, los Navegantes were leading, 4-3. Los Navegantes ultimately won the contest, 4-3, in 10 innings.

Prior to these ejections, 1B Umpire Clint Fagan ejected Navegantes del Magallanes second baseman Reegie Corona for arguing an out call in the top of the 5th inning. With one on and one out, R1 Corona was picked off by Leones pitcher Guillermo Moscoso (put out by first baseman Jesus Aguilar). Replays for this ejection are unavailable; the call is irrecusable. At the time of the Corona ejection, the contest was tied, 2-2.

During his 10th inning ejection, Cabrera, a member of the Cleveland Indians organization, appeared to contact Moreno's chest in an action reminiscent of a plate umpire bump.

In December of 2011, Texas Rangers catcher Yorvit Torrealba, who like Cabrera also was playing as a member of the Leones del Caracas, threw an open hand slap and made contact with HP Umpire Dario Rivero, Jr.'s face mask. MLB did not discipline Torrealba in advance of the 2012 season, though the Venezuelan League suspended Torrealba a total of 66 games, which included the both the balance of the 2011-12 and entire 2012-13 Venezuelan Winter League seasons.